Questions
by bionic4ever
Summary: SUR4: Jaime and Steve's oldest two children have figured out what they do for 'Uncle Oscar'.
1. Chapter 1

**Questions**

Chapter One

"Mom, what do you do?" Ten-year-old Lauren looked up at Jaime with curious, trusting eyes.

"I used to play tennis, Honey; you know that."

"No, I mean now," the child persisted.

Jaime returned her daughter's serious gaze. "I'm not sure what you're asking me," she hedged, although she was fairly certain she did know. "I take care of you, your brother and your sisters -"

"No - I mean when Uncle Oscar comes to see you. He always takes you or Dad with him. Where do you go? Is he your boss or something?"

"Why would you think that?"

"You don't seem happy to see him anymore, like you used to, and I can tell you don't want to go, but he takes you with him anyway..."

_Yep - she always was the smartest,_ Jaime thought, trying to come up with an answer. "Tell you what, Lauren. When your Dad gets home tonight, we'll sit down and talk, ok?"

"Alright."

_Hopefully, by then I'll figure out what to say!_

------

Jaime grabbed her husband the instant he walked in the door, before the kids - who were playing out back - realized he was home. She quickly pulled him down the hall and into their bedroom, to tell him about what Lauren had said.

A wicked grin crossed Steve's face. "You usually wanna wait 'til the kids are asleep, but hey, I'm up for a quickie."

"Steve! You're incorrigible."

"And you love it."

Jaime smiled. "I love _you_. But we have a problem."

"Sweetheart, this is the one place where we've never had a problem..."

"It's our daughter..."

"Oh. Which one?"

"The one who'd like to know where we go and what we do when we leave here with Oscar," Jaime said quietly.

"Lauren."

"Yep."

"What'd you tell her?" Steve asked.

"Nothing yet. I told her the three of us would talk when you got home. I was hoping you might have an idea how to handle it, because I sure don't. If we lie, and a few years down the road she learns the real truth...She's probably got it halfway figured out already. I know we can't lie, but they're so young -"

"We knew this would pop up some day," Steve reminded her. "And we might as well talk to James at the same time, because you know where Lauren goes -"

"Her brother will follow. They've probably been speculating for a while. Seeing the wires in my arm might have gotten it started."

"That was almost three years ago, Jaime -"

"Three years to turn the tiny molehill into an unclimbable mountain. Maybe she just couldn't bring herself to ask 'til now."

"We'll deal with it," he tried to assure her. He just wished he was sure himself...

------

"Are we in trouble?" Lauren asked solemnly.

"No, Honey, of course not," Jaime said, gently rubbing her daughter's shoulder. She and Steve had waited until the three younger children were in bed, and were now sitting on the big sofa together, with James and Lauren between them. Both parents noticed that the twins were holding each other's hand.

Lauren's eyes were wide. "In the movies, they always say _I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you_," she whispered.

"What movies?" Steve asked.

"The...spy movies."

Steve nodded. "Would those be the late night movies we don't allow you to stay up and watch?"

"Yeah," James answered for both of them. "Lauren thinks you're spies."

"And what do you think?" Jaime asked softly.

James shrugged. "Moms and Dads can't be spies."

Steve tousled the boy's hair. "First of all, Buddy, Moms and Dads can be spies like anyone else."

Jaime picked up the thread. "But 'spy' sounds like a 'bad guy' kind of word, doesn't it?" The twins nodded silently. "You're old enough now that your Dad and I feel we can trust you with the truth. That _doesn't_ mean you can share it with your sisters."

"We won't," the twins answered in perfect unison.

"When Uncle Oscar visits us in jeans and a shirt, then he's just here to visit. We've known him for many years - long before you were born, even - and he's like part of our family." Jaime looked at her husband, as if to say _help me out here._

Steve continued for her. "Sometimes, though, he comes here wearing a suit and tie, and then - yes - he's our boss, too."

"That's when we all have to go and play outside," Lauren noted.

"Right."

"Is he a good guy or a bad guy?" James asked.

"He's a very good guy. He works for the government, and sometimes, when he needs us, your Mom and I do, too."

"You..._are_...spies!" Lauren was awed.

"That's not exactly it," Steve explained. "We sometimes work undercover; do you know what that means?"

"Like James Bond!"

Steve looked at Jaime: _Tag - you're it!_

Sort of, but nothing that fancy," she told them. "We help Uncle Oscar find and catch the criminals that the police can't -"

"Secret agents," Lauren concluded.

"Well, Honey, I guess that's better than 'spies'. And since we do most of our work undercover -"

"We aren't allowed to tell anyone about it," Lauren said.

"That's right. But you can talk to us about it, when you need to."

"Do Grandma and Grandpa know?" James asked.

"Yes, but other than the two of them, you're the only ones."

"And it has to stay that way, ok?" Steve reminded them. Both children nodded solemnly. "If you have questions, your Mom and I will answer them if we can. Once in awhile there might be things we just can't talk about, but we won't lie to you. Alright?"

They understood, and they were satisfied - temporarily, anyway.

------


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The questions continued for days, any time James or Lauren found themselves alone with either parent. Jaime was starting to worry.

"Did we do the right thing, telling the twins the truth?" she asked Steve one night when everyone else was asleep.

"A lie might've been easier for now, but it would've eventually come back to haunt us," Steve said, drawing her into his arms.

"This morning they asked if we have guns. I told them not in the house - ever - but that sometimes you carry one when you're working."

"Did you tell them you're supposed to carry one, too, but you're too damn stubborn?" Steve asked, and was rewarded by a bop on the head from Jaime's pillow.

Jaime's eyes were far away. "Then James asked if we ever get shot at..."

------

Even after nearly four years, Uncle Oscar couldn't tell Jenna and Crystal apart. Jaime refused to dress them alike, but the girls had become experts at switching clothes in a split-second to fool him. On this visit, after a couple of twin-switches and hugs for all five kids, Oscar turned to Jaime and Steve with dark, serious eyes. Lauren caught this and showed unusual perception in herding her sisters and brother outside to play.

"It's nice of you to let them have their fun, Oscar," Jaime said, smiling at him, "but since you're the head of a national intelligence agency, I doubt you have that much trouble telling a set of twins apart..." Jaime's voice trailed off when she saw the expression on his face. "No...That's not fair! You blind-sided us!"

"Excuse me?" Oscar challenged.

"You show up here all casual, like you came to see the kids -"

"Which I did."

"Maybe," Jaime conceded. "But I know that look. Which one of us is the lucky one this time?"

Oscar couldn't look at her. "Both of you," he said softly. "I need both of you."

"_No way_!" Steve said emphatically. "You know how we feel about one of us -"

"One of you always stays with the family while the other one works, I know, but -"

"No 'but', Oscar," Jaime insisted. "Pick one of us; you aren't getting both. Non-negotiable."

"Rudy's computer system has been breached. His office has been bugged and all his files were rifled through, with a good portion of them stolen."

"Is Rudy ok?" Jaime gasped.

"He's fine. He was on his first real vacation in years. The whole lab was shut down, locked up tight, for two weeks. He returned last night - to all of that."

Steve frowned. "How did anyone get through that security system?"

"We don't know," Oscar sighed. "There could be a leak - a mole - among his staff, but I doubt it. My feeling is that we're dealing with an extremely talented group of scientists and I guarantee that whatever their purpose might be, it is _not_ in our country's best interests."

Steve leaned forward in his chair. "So they could've had those files for up to two weeks?" Oscar nodded. "Oscar, they could do virtually anything in that time, even -"

"Even duplicate bionic circuitry in one of their own operatives," Oscar summarized. "That isn't the worst part. Rudy had some experimental bionic files that the two of you were never briefed on because he decided the ideas were simply too dangerous. He discovered a way to power up bionic circuits by over 75 percent, both speed and strength, but the results turned out to be more than human flesh and blood bodies could tolerate. If someone decided to try that out -"

"They'd have one hell of a weapon," Steve said grimly.

"We don't know who or where these people are, and the two of you are really our only hope of finding them," Oscar told them.

Jaime was puzzled. "How would we do that?"

"We've left the bugs in place, for now," Oscar explained. "We'll let them think they haven't been detected. The two of you will have a 'fight' in the lab - one of you has gone bad - and the other will try to stop them. I can virtually guarantee this group will contact you, and - you're in."

"Hopefully still breathing and with all parts attached," Steve commented.

Oscar ignored the remark. "One of you goes in - you can choose which one - and the other will follow, ostensibly to talk the 'bad' one out of what they're doing -"

"Oscar," Jaime protested, "You're talking as though we'd both already agreed to do this."

"Babe, it's urgent, or I wouldn't be asking you to violate your 'family' rule. I know how much it means to you. But if these people have re-produced bionic circuitry and then powered up their subject, neither one of you would have a chance of stopping them alone."

"We need time to make arrangements for the kids -" Jaime hedged.

"I took the liberty of doing that for you. A car should be picking Jim and Helen up at the airport any minute now."

Jaime was beyond livid. "_You have one hell of a lot of nerve! **You** made arrangements for **our **children and didn't feel it was necessary to get our input? Dammit! How could you even **think** that would be alright with us_?"

Oscar went on with his instructions. "We'll be leaving as soon as Jim and Helen get here. In the meantime, the two of you need to decide who takes which role.

------


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Jaime stormed into Rudy's lab with Steve right behind her, slamming the door as he entered. "Do you have to follow me everywhere I go?" she snapped angrily, with a smile on her face.

"Jaime, what the hell are you doing? Do you even know? Oscar's looking for you, and he's out for blood. He told me if you don't turn up in the next 15 minutes, he's calling in the Secret Service. _The Secret Service_!"

"I've dodged those idiots before, and I can certainly do it again."

"He also told me there's a gun missing from the Properties room, and that you took it. You've just declared yourself Armed and Extremely Dangerous; the Secret Service can shoot you if it's the only way to stop you."

"Steve, I've been 'extremely dangerous' ever since they put all their damned circuits and wires in me - that I never asked for or wanted in the first place! For that matter, _you're_ 'extremely dangerous', too."

"I didn't steal a gun and tell my boss to do something to himself that would be anatomically impossible! Sweetheart, why don't you just quietly put the gun back, tell Oscar you're sorry, and -"

Jaime slammed her fist against the heavy metal table - carefully, so as not to break it, but hard enough to make an audible sound. "Why don't _you_ do exactly what I just finished telling Oscar to do? You might as well; you sure won't be getting it from me!"

"You're really gonna leave?" Steve asked, trying for a slight tremor in his voice.

"Gonna? I'm already gone!"

"What about the kids?" he said, very quietly.

"They'll have you."

"Jaime, think about what you're doing. This isn't you -"

"It is now."

"I love you," he said, keeping the tremor.

"No, you love the idealized version of me that you carry around in your head: Miss Goody-Two-Shoes to the 'n'th degree. Well, I'm sorry, but that isn't me. Not anymore."

"Please..."

"Goodbye, Steve."

"I'm not gonna let you do this."

"You'll be stopping me...how?" Jaime asked. Although he was a good ten feet away from her, she went on. "Damn you! Let go of my arm. Steve, I'll hurt you if I have to."

"Give me the gun, Jaime."

"**Let go**!"

They winked at each other and began overturning tables, chairs, anything that wouldn't be too badly damaged but would make some noise. Then, they stopped. "Jaime, no. Put it down...please."

Jaime braced herself and fired a shot out the open window. "Buh-bye, _Honey_," she said in a voice dripping with acid. She made sure to slam the door on her way out.

Steve waited a few minutes, then picked up the phone. "Oscar? She was here, but I lost her. I need Rudy, or an ambulance. Jaime shot me."

------

Oscar used Rudy's lab phone to issue an APB on Jaime. He'd already let all responding units know about the ruse, so no one would take a shot at her, trying to be a hero. Steve was rushed to the hospital, with appropriate sound effects, to have his non-existent wound bandaged. As he was being carried out of the lab, he told Rudy "Just patch it up and I'll be outta your hair, Doc. I've gotta find Jaime before the Secret Service does."

"Steve, she shot you," Rudy reminded him.

"She's my wife, Rudy. I love her. They're gonna...shoot...her..." Steve let his voice trail away weakly.

Rudy didn't want to overplay it, but he mumbled under his breath on his way out the door. "Maybe shooting her would be the best thing for everyone."

------

Jaime sat anxiously in a big overstuffed chair at what had once been her parents' mountain cabin. She and Steve still took the kids there regularly for vacations, and since it was deeded in her name, she figured it might be a good place to hide, where they wouldn't have to look too hard to find her, whoever 'they' were.

Steve hadn't liked the idea of Jaime being the one to go inside whatever sort of group they were facing, but she'd pointed out that she'd be safer in that capacity, since the 'good' one would probably have to fight their way in. He'd have much rather had Jaime stay home with the children, but he had to agree with her that these roles were the better of their two choices.

There was a phone at the cabin, but Jaime didn't know if she'd be contacted that way, or in person. She just wished they'd hurry up, one way or the other, unless they hadn't bought the act. They just _had_ to have bought it, though - there was no Plan B.

Jaime dusted everything in sight, re-arranged the furniture and paged through both magazines she'd brought with her. She paced restlessly back and forth for a little while, but felt too much like a caged animal. She decided to sit on the front porch and get a little sun, leaving the door open so she could hear the phone. She opened the door and found a man there, with his hand raised as though he was about to knock. She also heard the tell-tale cl-i-ic-kk that meant he was wearing a wire.

"Hello, Mrs. Austin," he said in a soft, almost buttery voice. "It would be to our mutual advantage if we could talk."

"Who the hell are you?" Jaime asked, playing 'bad' to the hilt, with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Someone who just might make you very, very rich. Can I come in? You should probably close the door before _they_ spot you anyway."

"_They_ who?"

"Forgive me, Mrs. Austin, but I have certain information about you -"

"Such as?"

"You shot your husband today. With a stolen gun."

Jaime took his arm and pulled him into the cabin, closing the door. She sat herself down in the overstuffed chair, crossed her arms and stared at him skeptically. "I'm listening."

------


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Jaime wished she felt as fearless as the alter-ego 'Jaime' she was portraying. Although she'd protested bitterly when they were making these plans, she was glad she'd agreed to let Rudy implant a tracking chip in her arm -only temporarily, of course. She didn't want to spend any more time in this place, with these people, than was absolutely necessary. They were headquartered in a building that had probably once been a small factory with offices on one side, but it reminded Jaime of a cross between a run-down prison and a medieval torture chamber. She'd been escorted to a small waiting room and told that 'Sid' would join her shortly.

Wary, curious and a little bit bored, she tuned in to hear the voices in the next room. "We did an even better job than we thought," said a man she recognized as the same one who had brought her here. "Incredible likeness."

"So why haven't you secured everything?"

"I didn't want to spook her and have her try and fight her way out," the first man answered.

"We are more than capable of stopping her. Secure the doors - now!"

Jaime did _not_ like the sound of that! She was on her feet immediately, but it was already too late. A set of two thick metal doors slid closed, one after the other, blocking her escape. She heard a strange mechanical noise and saw an observation camera slide out of a wall near the ceiling and point itself in her direction.

"What the -? Sorry, guys, show's over," she said angrily. Jaime took aim, jumped toward the camera and swung at it with her right arm. The camera's light went off, but it had been programmed with high voltage as a fail-safe, and Jaime winced as she fell to the floor, momentarily stunned. There was smoke coming from her arm. To make it all a little bit worse, a second camera took the first one's place. "**_Dammit_**!" she cursed, just before blacking out.

------

In a make-shift lab down the hall from Oscar's office, Steve, Rudy and Oscar were hunched over the tiny screen that was fed by the tracking chip in Jaime's arm. They had narrowed down the area and were about to zero in on her location when the screen filled with grey and white snow and then went black.

"What would make the chip do that?" Oscar asked, worry lines creasing his face.

"A malfunction in the chip itself would do it," Rudy speculated, "but that's a brand-new one, and it was working perfectly a few hours ago."

"If...something...happened to Jaime, would it -" Oscar began.

"The chip would still transmit, as long as her arm was powered."

Steve understood. "So if something happened to her arm, if it was no longer functioning or getting power..."

"That would do it. Definitely." Rudy confirmed.

"Damn!" Steve slammed his right fist into the wall, leaving a hole. "Sorry, Oscar. I just wish it would've held out even a minute or two longer; we almost had her. Oscar, I'm gonna head for the general area, and you or Rudy can radio me if it gives you anything else."

"I don't think you should go in there blind, without back-up, Pal," Oscar told him. "I'll put a team together, and -"

"And by the time they're ready, who knows what might happen to Jaime?" Steve said grimly. "If it's true that she can't use her arm, she's already in real trouble. You go ahead and form your team, Oscar. When they're ready, they can join me; I'll be looking for my wife."

------

"Jaime? Sweetheart, please wake up; we've got to get out of here."

Jaime forced her eyes open - they felt so heavy - and found herself in Steve's arms. "Oh, thank God!" she whispered. "I thought when my arm fizzled that you'd lose the tracking device."

"No problems on our end," he told her. "C'mon, let's go before they figure out I'm here. Can you walk?"

"I...think so."

He helped her to her feet and they hurried down the dark hallway. He led her up a flight of steps, out the back door and into an alley where she suddenly saw...

"Steve?" Jaime looked from the man with his arm around her waist to the one standing at the alley's entrance, staring at them in disbelief that echoed her own. The two men were identical. Jaime pulled away from the one who'd been leading her and backed into a wall, her eyes reflecting the shock and confusion that were paralyzing her.

The second Steve walked slowly toward them, trying to assess the situation. The first one turned to Jaime. "Gotta admit they've got some talent, to be able to build something like that," he told her. "But Sweetheart, you know who I am. If you don't, well, watch this." He raised his arm and punched a hole in the brick wall of the building they'd just left. Wordlessly, his eyes deadly serious, the second Steve did the same.

A very familiar voice came from just inside the back doorway. "Steve, if you're done showing off now, how 'bout going home to our kids?" Confusion, first multiplied by three, was now multiplied by four as a second, identical Jaime joined them in the alley.

"No way..." the first Jaime murmured, her legs beginning to give out from fear and shock. Both Steves rushed to her aid as she sank slowly to the pavement.

The second Jaime merely shook her head. "Real nice try there, Sweetie, but I'm not quite so melodramatic." The second Steve looked from one to the other, needing to embrace one of them and knock the other one into the next week. It was impossible to tell by looking at them.

"Come over here," he called to Jaime #2. He looked at them each in turn; even their eyes were the same. "Jaime," he said to both of them and neither one in particular, "what was the name of your childhood teddy bear?"

"Albert," #2 said with confidence. Steve looked to Jaime #1, pale and shaky and still on the ground.

"I didn't have a teddy bear. It was a rabbit. Mister Snug-Snug."

With no doubt whatsoever in his mind, Steve #2, the _real_ Steve, took his wife into his arms and held her close. They were still in a huge mess of trouble, but at least they were together now, and in both of their minds, one plus one equaled ten, when they worked as a team.

------


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Steve knew that '_Steve and Jaime_' could accomplish far more than the two of them, working separately, ever could. Unfortunately, half of that team now appeared down for the count. Jaime was unable to use her arm, almost too shaky to stand, and Steve wasn't about to leave her.

The faux Jaime put her hand on Faux Steve's shoulder. "Sid'll be here to get them and minute now."

Faux Steve nodded, looking contempuously at their counterparts down on the pavement. "I'll take the front of the alley and you take the back. They're not going anywhere."

Once they were relatively alone, Steve pulled his wife closer, to try and stop her trembling. "It'll be ok. We're gonna get out of this." As he held her and tenderly tried to comfort her, he was alarmed to discover that she wasn't just shaking with fear. Her body periodically jerked and shuddered, telling Steve her arm was not burned out and dead. It was shorting out from the inside, zapping her body with periodic jolts of electric current.

"We can't fight them," Jaime said weakly. "It'd take both of us just to bring one of them down, and there are two..."

"We don't have to take them down," Steve told her. "We just have to hold them off for a little while. My Datacom radio has a tracker, so they know where we are. The minute I saw you come out with who-or-whatever that is over there, I hit a button that let them know we need immediate help. They'll be here before you know it."

Jaime looked at him with eyes that were both sad and hopeful, and was about to say something when her body was wracked by a violent tremor that left her only semi-conscious. Steve began to prepare to fight both of their doubles alone, if necessary, but there was one thing he really needed to know.

"Jaime? Can you hear me, Sweetheart?" Her only answer was a soft moan of pain. Steve wanted - needed - to know if their doubles were robots or actual humans with bionic parts, but he'd have to wing it. _C'mon, Oscar - HURRY_! Steve thought silently. He didn't know how many more of those violent jolts Jaime's body could withstand.

Steve quickly glanced down at each end of the alley. They didn't appear to be watching, so he took his Datacom from his front pocket and pushed 'talk'. "Oscar? It's me."

"Steve, did you find Jaime?"

"I'm with her now, but she's hurt. You need to _get here_."

"We've got your location pinpointed. Be there in less than five minutes."

"Listen, we're in the alley behind their building, being guarded by our exact doubles, and -"

"I'll take that." Faux Steve stood in front of him. He wrenched the Datacom away, threw it to the ground and crushed it with his foot. Faux Jaime joined them, too.

"Sid is ready for you now," she told Steve. "On your feet - _both_ of you - **_now_**!"

"Can't you see she's hurt?"

"For our purposes that doesn't matter."

"Look," Steve said, "you've got me. Why don't you leave her alone?"

"That's not our choice," Faux Steve answered. "Don't worry; she won't be in pain much longer. You will be harvested for information and then for parts. After that, it's Sid's turn. Now, **_get up_**!" Steve didn't move. He fixed his eyes on his double and glared angrily at him.

"She can either get up or be dragged," Faux Jaime added. The doubles leaned down and began to pull Jaime from her husband's arms.

"_Freeze_!" Oscar's voice echoed down the alley. "Don't move!" He was accompanied by a half dozen NSB and OSI men at each end of the alley.

The doubles turned, momentarily distracted, and Jaime - still only partially awake - mustered enough strength for one good kick with both feet. Faux Steve crumpled to the pavement and Faux Jaime hit the opposite wall and was thoroughly dazed. Jaime herself, now totally spent, went limp in Steve's arms.

Oscar had witnessed just enough to know who the doubles were and he pointed them out as his agents moved in. "If they resist, shoot them," he ordered. He turned to _his_ Steve and Jaime. "The Medivac's on its way." Another small army of agents emerged from the building with four scientists and the man who'd 'recruited' Jaime in their custody.

"That's everyone," one of the agents told Oscar. "We'll need a second transport van."

"Just cram them all in that one," Oscar ordered. "I want them out of here immediately."

"Yes, sir."

"What about you, Pal?" Oscar asked Steve. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, but..." Steve looked down at Jaime who, in spite of all the commotion around her, was eerily silent.

"There's Rudy now," Oscar said, looking toward the parking lot across the street from the front entrance to the alley. Rudy was already running toward them.

The doctor saw Jaime lying prone in Steve's arms and called back to his medics: "Bring the gurney!"

"What happened?" Rudy asked Steve, already crouching next to them and starting to check his patient.

"I don't know; she was already hurt when I got here. Then she started jerking, like her arm was shocking her."

"My team will have the OR ready when we get back." He looked at Steve with worried eyes. "We need to get her there now."

------


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"You'll wear a path in the floor pretty soon, Pal," Oscar said as he came down the hospital hallway. Steve was doing exactly what he'd been doing nine hours earlier, when Oscar had left to go back and look for 'Sid'. He was still pacing. "She's in the best possible hands."

"I know," Steve said, finally sitting down. "They've been in there for over ten hours, though..."

"She'll be ok."

"Did you find Sid?" Steve asked his boss.

"Yep. Sid isn't a person; it's a machine."

"How could a machine be ready for us?"

Oscar took a deep breath. "SID stands for sub-atomic incendiary device."

"Oh." Steve leaned back in his chair, absorbing the information. "So they'd have fed us to that machine and...no messy clean-up, no incriminating evidence left behind."

"Right. Steve, I called Jim and Helen for you, and let them know what's going on. I told them you'd call either tonight or tomorrow, as soon as you know more about what's going on with Jaime."

"Thanks." The OR door opened and Steve was instantly on his feet. "How is she, Rudy?"

The doctor was not smiling. "Jaime has suffered quite a bit of tissue damage at the connection point in her shoulder. We had to remove the arm, of course, but I won't be able to use the spare that we already have; I'll have to craft a new one that covers the majority of her shoulder where she's lost tissue. I can make a new one in about a day and a half, so that's not a problem. We just can't seem to get her stabilized right now. Her vital signs are all over the place. It would be best if we keep her completely sedated until the new arm is ready; any further shock to her system could quite possibly kill her."

"How soon can I see her?"

"We're moving her up to ICU. Once she's settled in, maybe about in 15 minutes or so -" The OR doors opened again, and Rudy's team emerged, pushing Jaime on a stretcher. "Or, how about now?" Rudy added. "Just for a minute, though, since she's still not stable." The team backed away to allow Steve a private moment with his wife.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he said softly, leaning down to kiss her. She was so pale and so still that it frightened him. "I'm gonna call the kids in a little while," he told her unconscious form, "and I'll give them your love and tell them we'll _both_ be seeing them soon. You'll be ok, Jaime - you just need to hang on, and you'll be fine." Steve kissed her once more and then stepped away from the stretcher, allowing the team to take over.

Rudy stopped and smiled reassuringly at Steve. "We'll take good care of her."

"I know. Thank you."

------

Steve spoke with each of his children in turn, even laughing a bit when he heard them squabbling over who would be next. Finally, it was Lauren's turn. "How much longer will you be gone?" she asked, being careful not to use the word 'work' in front of his sisters.

"At least another week, Honey, maybe a little bit longer."

"I miss you so much," Lauren told him, sounding for just a moment like a ten-year-old-child instead of ten-going-on-thirty. "Can I talk to Mommy?"

"Lauren, Mommy...can't come to the phone right now. Everything will be ok, though, and we'll explain what we can to you when we get home, ok?"

"Daddy? The others just went outside. Is something wrong with Mommy?"

"She got hurt, Honey, but she'll be ok before we know it. Doctor Rudy's taking good care of her."

"Is she dead, and you're telling us a little at a time?"

"No, Lauren - definitely not. Are you sure you're only ten?"

"_Daddy_!"

"I've gotta go now, Honey, but trust me - everything will be ok. Mommy'll call you herself in a few days."

"I love you. Give Mommy a kiss."

------

Rudy was waiting just outside the door of Jaime's glass ICU cubicle. He looked even more serious than he had after her surgery. "What is it, Rudy?" Steve asked nervously.

"Jaime's blood tests indicate a high level of rejection antibodies in her bloodstream. If there are antibodies, they've appeared to fight something off. Jaime's gone into bionic rejection."

"Oh no..."

"We've flooded her body with maximum doses of three different anti-rejection drugs," Rudy told him. "This explains why we can't get her stabilized. Her biggest problem isn't the injury now. I'm afraid Jaime is a very, very sick woman."

------

Steve spent the night and most of the next day alternating between pacing the length of the cubicle and sitting quietly beside Jaime, holding her hand. There was no response, no change at all. Oscar found him there, about 36 hours after she'd been admitted.

"Why don't you grab something to eat, Pal? Maybe take a quick nap? I'll sit with Jaime."

"Thanks, but I don't wanna leave her. If she woke up or if...something happened and I wasn't here, I'd never forgive myself."

"Have you eaten anything since you got here?" Oscar asked.

"Don't think I could."

"Well, I'll bring you a sandwich anyway. Maybe you'll change your mind later. Is there anything you need? Anything I can do?"

"A cup of coffee would be great - strong and black."

"You got it."

Jaime tossed restlessly in her drug-induced sleep. The only thing that seemed to soothe her was the touch of her husband's hand, so Steve sat at his wife's bedside, not daring to sleep, for almost three days before she showed the slightest sign of improvement. She began to breathe normally again, and her heart rate and blood pressure started to stabilize as well. For the first time since she'd been admitted, Steve allowed himself to hope.

"We've eased her off of the sedatives," Rudy told Steve, "and as soon as she's awake, provided she remains stable, we'll schedule surgery to attach the new arm."

"How long before she wakes up?"

"Possibly an hour or two, maybe a little longer. If she goes more than 12 hours, then we start to worry."

He knew he'd have to tell the children it would be a little longer than expected before they returned home. He'd considered going home by himself for a day or two, but thought that might upset and frighten them even more, to see him return without their mother. So he continued to call them every day, sometimes twice a day, to stay as connected as he possibly could. That day, though, he postponed the phone call to stay glued to Jaime's side.

Rudy checked on her at least once an hour, and after the tenth hour, he shook his head. "She's no closer to surfacing now than she was this morning."

Steve continued to remain by her side, and at thirteen hours, he took her hand once again and began to 'scold' her a little bit, trying to rouse her from her sleep. "Ok, Jaime, you've rested long enough. It's time to wake up now and work on getting you back to our kids; they want you home." When he mentioned the kids, Steve's voice broke. They needed their mother. _He_ needed their mother, too.

Maybe it was the break - the very slight sob - in Steve's voice, or maybe it was simply time, but when Steve bent down to kiss her again, she was silently looking back at him, a slight smile illuminating her face and lighting up Steve's entire world.

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The next morning, after she'd had a little time to rest and regain some strength, Jaime had a very emotional, hour-long phone reunion with her children. The three youngest were told that their parents were helping a friend and it was taking longer than expected. Only Lauren and James knew they'd been working and that Jaime had been hurt. Lauren had politely asked her Grandma if she'd take the younger ones outside for a few minutes and Helen immediately understood and agreed.

"Mom! You aren't dead!" she said, on the verge of tears.

"Well, of course not. Did you think I was?"

"Daddy said you'd be ok, but I wasn't sure."

"Lauren," Jaime said with a smile in her voice, "didn't we tell you we'd never lie to you?"

"Uh-huh. I'm sorry I didn't believe him."

"Honey, I'm just sorry you were so worried. I'll be home in another week, and I'll see you then, ok?"

Once she'd hung up the phone, Jaime thought about how hard she'd have to work to be out of there in a week, but her family was more than worth it.

That afternoon, Jaime received her new arm and within 24 hours she was sneaking out of bed when the nurses weren't looking. It took less than a day for the nurses to give up and allow her to take short walks with Steve. She'd never worked this hard before, pushing herself through pain and extreme weakness, but through sheer determination she managed to persuade Rudy to release her in only six days. Her progress had been nothing short of miraculous.

"Young Lady," Rudy said with mock gruffness, "I expect you to stay off your feet and get as much rest as possible for the next week or two. You're not 100 percent yet, but you'll get there soon enough if you follow doctor's orders - for once."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Steve volunteered, "and I know Lauren will be mothering her mom like crazy. Hannah and James can help, too. She'll rest, whether she likes it or not."

Jaime grinned. "And does _she_ have anything to say about that?"

Both men turned to her and, in perfect unison, proclaimed "**_No_**!"

------

Five very excited children and their equally thrilled grandparents stood on the front porch to greet Jaime and Steve. Jaime hugged each of them long and hard, a little more with Lauren who had burst into tears of happiness and relief. Steve hugged them, too, and once everyone had been duly greeted and hugged, he announced that it was time to line up and assume Austin Parade positions. Jaime took the lead, with the children behind her from youngest to oldest and Steve in the back. With much fanfare, they marched joyfully into the house. Their exuberance was contagious, and even Uncle Oscar who had pulled in while they were marching, couldn't stop himself from breaking out a most un-Oscar-like ear-to-ear grin.

END


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